Golden Girl
by ComicGirlHero
Summary: A practicing artist, wanna-be social activist, and coffee enthusiast. Orion Cavanagh learns the influences super heroes have on normal people, all the while trying to find her place in the world and what she wants to be.
1. Chapter 1

It was a picturesque sight.

She hoped off her bike, tote bag in hand and was immediately greeted with the cool breeze from the river. It drifted through her floppy pixie cut, cooling her after such a busy day at work, cashiering at the town's local grocery store. She left the peonies she bought from the local farmers market in her basket along with a few pastries and baked goods she purchased. The short haired bookworm shrugged her bag over her shoulder and made her way to the rustic cabin looking coffee shop, just hidden off the road and next to the river. The birds chirped in the trees her reflection shined on the windows of the shop, she quickly admired her favorite outfit of slouchy jean overalls and tight striped crop tank. Perfect for such a nice day.

The rickety porch door swung open and shuddered closed as her shoes creaked on the wooden floor. She waved to the barista, recognizing their frequent customer as they strolled over to their favorite spot. A small cushioned chair with a round table right next to the large windows with a perfect view of the rushing river.

She placed her bag at her feet and dug out her laptop. Typing away at the essay for her online class she had to write for.

"" _Art today is anything and everything" Duchamp's 'Fountain' is one of my most favorite pieces. I learned about it about two years ago when I took my first art class and was completely shocked at the fact that something like that could or would be considered art. At first I was almost offended but as I learned more about the history of art and its movements I realized that there couldn't be any specific definition of what art is. I admired the idea that art should be taken seriously, but at the same time it was that rule that held me back for pursuing my full potential as an artist. This, to me, has a tie with my perspective on Impressionism when I was younger. Earlier, pieces such as JMW Turner or Monet I was confused as to why they were praised even though they didn't depict a specific or detailed image. It wasn't until recently that I started to have a new admiration for the style and the elegance of the pieces that now Impressionism and the Dada Movement are now some of my favorite things to study._

 _It was through this movement that I gained new perspective on art museums and popular to non popular artists in those museums. I contemplated what art really stood for. For a moment in an art history class I wondered about Jackson Pollock vs Rauschenberg, why Pollock was held to a higher standard than Rauschenberg (at least in my perspective)._

 _I used to consider the art museum as the epicenter of art in my world; only because it was the place my grandmother had always taken me as a child (which I always had to be dressed nicely for). She brought me to see artist talks, we would walk each floor and spend hours just staring at the pieces there even though I wanted to whirl through the rooms until I found one work that caught my eye and just stare at it until I studied every inch of it. Though, she would always scold me that I had to sit and stare at each piece because each one was special and in the end she would ask me which piece would be my favorite. I would always just memorize the title and artist of a random piece that I knew my grandmother would be proud of, maybe toss in a few 'artistic' phrases here and there and grow bored of seeing the same images all the time. It wasn't until I got to college did I realize that the art museum wasn't the only place to find art and more specifically, for me, new art. I found a home in the Third Ward. I saw graffiti, sculptures, urban gardens and art projects to inspire community. I gained new perspective and that was all I could ask to learn from art."_

"Hey, Ori," the curly brown haired barista smiled down at the coffee shops regular and placed the mug of coffee on the table. "How've you been?"

The pixie cut girl nodded as she submitted the small written piece, "Good, Beck. Just finishing up some homework…how about you?"

"Sick of coffee." He joked and rubbed his hands on his apron. "Let me know if you need anything else, ok?"

"Sure thing." Orion smiled in return to her barista and waved him off. She took to her computer again, scrolling through the articles posted on the online class's forum.

The second online class she was taking revolved around journalism, which meant discussing the most popular topic.

'Superheroes. Good or Bad? In relation to popular media and influence.'

Orion studied the topic of discussion, the most recent battle on New York. She thought back sadly to the event. Luckily she wasn't anywhere near New York, in fact she lived in the vast woods of upper Wisconsin so the news of a big city like New York was a bit of a shock. It brought the community closer at the loss some of the families had but at the same time tension hung in the air. A few older locals held grudges against the people with powers who think know how to defend our country, though the younger people idolized the super-beings.

"-damn near killed me!"

Orion glanced up from her computer to see the town board walk into her safe haven. The older ladies and gents stomped in, noses held high and attitude spilling out of their very being. Gilbert Glass. The right hand to the town mayor was a large man, almost like a stereotypical lumberjack, long beard, flannel, smelled of whiskey and smoke. He lead his lackeys up to the bar in a jittering heap. Beck's smile faded into a disappointed frown as the townsmen approached the counter and he held his pen and pad ready for order.

"One of those super freaks," he rambled on. "Woulda flattened the place if it weren't for me."

Ah, yes. The talk of the town that was now so over told that Gilbert was milking it dry and then some. He just happened to be in New York during the time of the event and, quote, 'had the alien freaks shaking in their spacesuits'. Anyone sane already knew Gilbert Glass was evacuated from city hall, where he was a part of an 'anti-hero' protest, and the one alien that he had 'shaking in his spacesuit' was already taken out by Black Widow. He just kicked him while he was down.

"Took his spear gizmo as a souvenir, though!" Gilbert grinned proudly and fixed his suspenders. "Have it hanging over the mantel in my office."

"Can I take your order?" Beck asked flatly. It was obvious Beck detested their presence in his coffee shop.

"Ah, right. Let's see." Gilbert stroked his beard. "What's with you kids and all your sugary drinks? What happened to just plain old black coffee? Back in my day that all we had!"

"We have a dark roast, if that's what you want." Beck sighed, ignoring Gilbert's comments.

"I'm just saying that you kids shouldn't have to fancy up everything, like to hideous graffiti on the side of Bill Thomas' hardware store! That's a disgrace to our town." Gilbert drug on with agreeing murmurs from his posse.

"That's a mural that was commissioned by Mr. Thomas." Beck raised an eyebrow at him. "In honor of the people from here that were lost in New York."

"It's worshiping those super freaks is what it is." Gilbert pointed an accusing finger at Beck, like the whole situation was his fault.

Orion growled to herself. The idea of speaking up was jabbing in the back of her mind.

 _Do it. Do it._

She sighed and her gaze fell back down to her computer screen as she tried to ignore the frustrating crowd.

"Are you going to order something, Mr. Glass?" Beck sighed and placed a hand on his hip, annoyed.

Gilbert let out a frustrated huff and ordered his black coffee and got the town's newspaper. His posse followed suit and they all took seats at the table near the fireplace at the back of the coffee shop. It was their weekly town board meeting just to gossip and judge everyone in the town that wasn't them.

Orion sunk into her chair, her mood being ruined by the presence of such negativity. She drowned herself in her computer screen, her eyes hurt and the coffee she barely touched grew cold.

"You ok there, Orion?"

The voice broke her out of her trance. She breathed out not realizing she had been holding her breath and looked up at Beck.

"Yea," she told him. "Yea, I'm fine."

"You sure?" he raised an eyebrow at her. He tilted his head over the counter and nodded to the wooden table. "Because you're gripping that table pretty tight."

Orion looked down, not realizing she had her nails digging into the wood. There were obvious fingernail wholes there now.

"Oh, oh my god." She gasped as her eyes went wide in horror and hid her hands in her lap. "I'm so sorry!"

"No worries." Beck waved her off. "You'll just have to order coffee from me more often to pay it off." He teased and walked to the back of the kitchen disappearing from her view. Once sure he was gone, Orion stared at her hands and noticed the blood at the tips of her nails.

She sighed and closed her eyes. The smell of coffee filled her senses and centered her mind back to a blissful state and thought back to the peonies.

 _Ah, yes. The peonies, baked goods, and coffee…_

"Ok." Orion shook her head and returned to her computer. "Back to work."

She typed the title of her next piece:

" _Social Influence of Super Heroes."_


	2. Chapter 2

_Please Read Review, Fav Follow, and Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"Let me tell you something that broke my heart this passed week."_ Orion wrote to her online journalism class. She sat in her studio apartment at the rather small table in the middle of her kitchen. It was five in the morning, the sun slowly peeking through the window gleaming over the wooden floors in an orangey hue and highlighting the little dust specs floating around. Orion crossed her legs up on the chair as she hunched over her computer, tired circles under her eyes from being up all night writing essays. A pot of coffee brewed on the counter top, the sound of dripping coffee and its smell filled the small space, easing her senses a little bit as she still tried to type properly. " _As a graduate thesis project I assisted with this past semester I created hybrid clay pieces. Made for eco-friendly filtration these clay molds were created to retain water and slowly spread it for longer periods of time to conserve water for gardens. This was a community-based project to help our city in urban gardening, creating healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food. In my mind, in light of recent events, acting as one eco-friendly community would help us rebuild together to create a better tomorrow. As we clean up our cities from the Battle of New York, activists suggested and supported the plan to start building more gardens, less useless buildings, more community based projects and programs to support each other, less acts of rage or 'avenging' for personal gain. This was the biggest protest in New York after the battle…to do a thorough deep clean of their city and it inspired other cities to do the same. In my hometown there was tension about this sort of idea. A lot of us college students pledged and pleaded that the empty field across one of the dorm buildings be turned into a dedication of Dick Bacon, a kind community figure and nudist. He would be found sunbathing nude in this open park, he bothered no one; in fact he was a friendly face that became known well in the community until he passed away in a building collapse at New York. As we thought we were being heard it came to my attention that we were being completely ignored. I rode my bike passed the old dorm I used to live in and sit in the field for awhile…covering every inch of that field was a giant, ugly, brick building. It was a new indoor rock climbing facility. I was horrified wondering what happened. We had petitions, donations, and popular figures supporting the cause. Yet they still built this ugly ass building that we have no need for. Still in a complete stupor I noticed the street sign that this disgusting building was on._

 _They renamed the street Dick Bacon Ave._

 _He wouldn't have wanted this._

 _We don't want this."_

Orion sighed as she pressed the return key one last time, submitting the little rant, and finally rubbing her eyes painfully. The story had unpleasant irony to it and it left a foul taste in her mouth. These were things that she had come to realize people think they have control over in their democratic society sadly it's only something they believe. She went straight to the mayor of their city demanding the reason behind the facility and all he said was 'It's for the community'.

 _For the community?_

 _Paying $30 to climb a wall?_

'To help distract them from recent events and exercise." He replied with great disinterest.

 _We could do all of those things without a giant half a million-dollar fucking building which is in fact probably a big spit in the community's face and insult to Dick Bacon who was_ _ **crushed**_ _ **by a giant fucking building**_ _._

She was escorted out of city hall after that comment.

Orion stood up from the chair she sat in all night, cracking many bones in her spine, and picking up her 'Good Morning Asshole' mug, filling it to the brim with dark liquid.

There was a light knock at her door. Orion, wearing a _very_ loose extra large grey tank top which pretty much just hung off her and plush shorts that were covered in donuts, she walked up to the door and opened it. She looked down the old rickety hallway with faded carpet and hardwood showing underneath it.

"Hey, Ori."

Orion then noticed her neighbor, a small shy blonde with round glasses. The girl dressed like her grandma in a vintage flora dress and dull cardigan. The girl, Ally, worked at a twenty-four hour diner that gave her really shitty hours but she couldn't find it in herself to quit.

"Ally," Orion sipped her coffee and raised an eyebrow. She knew she looked gross with her boob probably popping out the side of her shirt, her hair stuck up in all directions and mascara smudged under her eyes. "How'd you know I was up?"  
"You're always up." Ally teased as she dug around in her big burlap tote bag that she called 'rustic'. "You said you write best from midnight til dawn. It's dawn."

Well she wasn't wrong.

The corner of Orion's lip turned up slightly, "How was work?"

Ally gave her a blank stare as she replied, "Work."

Orion shrugged, not really expecting any other answer. The diner was gross but tourists loved it for it's 'aesthetic'.

"Here's the paper." Ally pulled out the large stack. This was a thing Ally did for Orion once a week when she got back fro work. Ally gave her the paper at the beginning of the week and Orion gave her very generous discounts at the town's grocery store.

"Thanks." Orion took it from her. "Grocery shopping tomorrow?"

"Yep." Ally said and tugged open her apartment door with great force due to it getting stuck all the time. "See you then."

Orion tucked the paper under her arm and sipped her coffee again as she closed the door. She walked bare foot across the wood floor and turned on her record player, playing the original soundtrack of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. She tossed the paper on the tabletop and turned to grab a watering can to water her plants, until the front page of the paper caught her eye.

' _The First Avenger'_ was the headline. Orion leaned toward the table to get a closer look at the picture on the front page and it was of Captain America and his Howling Commandos, together just after the rescue of the German base in World War 2. She scanned the article of a museum in Washington D.C opening an exhibit dedicated to the First Avenger. One of the pictures caught her attention in particular.

She recognized it very very well.

Orion put her cup down and picked up the front sheet of paper, staring extremely hard at the picture as if expecting the picture to change but it never did and a new confusion came over her as a past memory came back to her.

2012.

In 2012 Orion was a part of a non-profit program based in the University of Arts London for artists and scientists came together to create innovative ways to engage society and communicate the importance and danger of global climate change. As a part of the collective Orion joined them on an unknown benefactor endorsed expedition to the Arctic, she went for personal enlightenment, to educate herself and gain awareness of environment. On the voyage the artists and scientists witnessed the collapse of a glacier and they explored the debris. She brought her camera with her because she knew there was no chance in hell she would do a plein air piece in the fucking Arctic. As she, with several other artists and scientists, explored the ice and snow of the fallen glacier there was a particular scene that caught her attention.

A piece of debris.

She knelt down and focused the shot. A wide shot of the barren landscape and just off center to the left was the debris. It wasn't until she got the picture did she realize that it wasn't just an ordinary piece of debris…it was a shield.

After getting the attention of the scientists to take a look at it everything from the expedition was confiscated. Every picture, notebook, sketchbook, and information of what had happened was taken away for security purposes. Apparently they had stumbled upon something they shouldn't have.

But she knew that picture.

 _It was her picture._


	3. Chapter 3

Orion sat at her kitchen table still struck at the fact her photo was being used in the countrywide newspaper. In her attempt to figure out who shared the private picture, she snapped an image of the picture and reversed Google searched for it. The image was being used on several news websites. She rubbed circles on her right temple as frustration consumed her and clicked on one of the sites. The image was still black and white and the source for the image was cited by a private organization. Determined to find out who was using her photo, Orion scanned every website, every blog, every social media handle that shared or talked about the photo. Hours passed by and her eyes burned from not leaving the computer screen, she reached every dead end, not ONE source knew the actual name of the organization that leant them the picture.

"What the fuck?" She growled in defeat and settled back in her chair. As a last resort she pulled up the list of recruits from the 2012 expedition and formed an email, which she didn't expect to hear anything back from, but what other choice did she have than going to the source herself? On the list she chose only a very few people she remembered gathering information and were the more upset scientists that fought for their information. There weren't many artists, besides herself, who were upset with the confiscation of their stuff.

Orion selected the names, Aspen Andrews (a student architect), Jane Foster (an astrophysicist), Erik Selvig (an astrophysicist), RiRi Williams (M.I.T Inventor and Engineer) in her email and asked them all if they had seen their expedition research recently. She knew it was a sort of obscure question but she wanted to make sure she wasn't the only one going crazy.

Immediately, she received an automated email from RiRi saying how the young engineer was busy and would reply as soon as she could. Orion remembered the 15-year-old engineer on the journey, she was the youngest student there and mostly kept to herself while she studied the landscape. She remembered asking the young MIT student why she chose to join the voyage and she only muttered something about a credit course then kept back to her notebook as she scribbled down numbers and equations that Orion thought was pure gibberish. Orion only knew Aspen Andrews from school; they both took an art history class together before Aspen moved out to New York for an architecture internship with Stark Industries, so she felt comfortable asking her if she had seen any of her plans for environmentally safe structures and filtration systems.

Lastly, the two scientists that took Orion under their wing, they were the only astrophysicists on the adventure and their occupations intrigued her. She had never met astrophysicist before, only art history professors. Orion listened to the scientists ramble on, barely understanding what they were telling her, but was curious nonetheless. They were initially drawn to Orion because of her name, they assumed she was a studying scientist due to it, though once Orion showed them some of her works and studies Jane was more than thrilled to ask her about it and dumbed down the information Selvig threw at Orion. He even explained the history behind her name, which she knew the basics of, but he explained it in such exciting detail that Orion was entranced.

 _It was the first time Orion was able to see the night sky so clearly, she was used to living in the suburbs just outside the city so she could usually only see the Big Dipper. The three adventurers were the only ones brave enough to stand on the ship in the frozen Arctic, though Orion was used to the cold so it didn't bother her that much, but they were still seen as crazy by the rest of the crew. Professor Selvig was excited to teach the young protégé and Jane was there to help translate his ramblings to her._

 _"You see," Professor Selvig leaned forward, eager to teach the artist of her name's origin. "Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator, it can be seen throughout the world!" he said excitably. He pointed up to the night sky, which Orion stared in awe at how many stars there were. "Right there, Rigel and Betelgeuse are Orion's brightest stars, and there, a blue-white and a red supergiant."_

 _She studied the sky for a minute before recognizing the constellation, "Oh! I see it!"_

 _"The constellation is prehistoric," Jane added as she came up next to Orion, who was leaning over the railing. "The earliest depiction was found-"_

 _"In a cave in the Ach valley in West Germany," Orion finished her sentence. "I studied ancient art and architecture. I believe it was a mammoth ivory carving, carved approximately 32,000-38,000 years ago."_

 _"Very good!" Jane and Erik grinned proudly. Jane nudged her shoulder, "I'm going to have to come to you for my art history facts from now on."_

They were also the ones that first responded to Orion's discovery.

 _"Hey!" Orion called to the group after she took her picture. She waved them all down, quickly catching the attention of Professor Selvig and Jane Foster. "Guys, I found something!"_

 _Orion looked back at the scene, carefully treading the snow and ice toward the shield she discovered. Suddenly, the snow sunk below her catching her waist deep and slamming her into a snowdrift._

 _"Ah, fuck." She muttered with a face full of snow. She brushed off her face and plunged her free hand into the snow for balance…but she was met with a solid structure that definitely_ _ **wasn't**_ _snow. She brushed layers of snow away while the group made their way toward her as fast as they could, which wasn't that fast due to all the snow. It was a large surface of ice…very very large. Orion, curious, pulled more piles of snow out of the way and was met with a terrifying sight._

 _"HOLY SHIT!" she screamed and fell backwards trying to get away. "There's a guy!"_

 _"Orion!" Professor Selvig and Jane were the first to her side. They pulled her out of the snow as the rest of the crew investigated the scene. "Are you ok, dear?"_

 _"Th-there's a guy!" Orion hyperventilated, gripped Jane and Erik for dear life. "There's a guy in the ice!"_


End file.
